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In the past, Mastercard has wanted to block deposits made by United States residents at online gambling. But, they could not identify a coding system that would stop payments only from those they wanted to exclude from going through. Instead, they were processed as uncoded transactions.
Now, Mastercard has figured out a way to prevent those attempted online gambling transactions at online casino and online poker sites from being processed. In the future, online gambling sites may figure a way around it. But, for now, if you live in the U.S., online gaming sites are blocked for Mastercard users.
This comes at a time when online gambling is at a crossroad. The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was delayed from the beginning of this year to June 1st. So, the online casino world is waiting to see if Congress will pass Barney Frank’s online gambling bills. Basically, it doesn’t look good for online gambling until the UIGEA is abolished and U.S. Congress adopts the online gambling bills as law. In the meantime, online gambling software needs a way to be effectively blocked, just in case the UIGEA is enacted. Then, credit card companies must be ready to put the blocks in place or face the legal repercussions.
Visa has not solved the coding problem as effectively as Mastercard, so players that use Visa credit cards are still able to make online casino deposits with them. Online gambling sites are still processing them as uncoded transactions. This may be temporary for Visa, which could use the methods discovered by Mastercard. In the past, financial institutions have wrongfully blocked gambling transactions that shouldn’t have been blocked, such as lottery tickets. All in all, this is not good news for online gamblers in the U.S.
Gaming software developer Playtech has announced the release of its Mobile Web Apps, a series of applications that will bring the company’s gaming products to mobile devices such as cell phones. Playtech announced in January a list of initiatives for this year and the mobile gaming platform is first on the list. Games available on the platform are blackjack, craps, video poker, Texas Hold’em and their signature slots.
Playtech stated that their platform will bring a new level of graphics to phone-based gaming. Progressive jackpots, greater security and protection against problem gambling are promised as well. Playtech has been a mover and shaker in the industry lately, creating a lot of speculation. Their deal with Sportech puts the company in position to offer sports betting on the mobile applications. The recent partnership with Scientific Games has many people speculating that Playtech is planning to secure a U.S. license if and when the country’s online gambling market is opened. Currently, Playtech refuses U.S. customers because of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) ban.
The mobile platform will be available on personal computers or on devices for on-the-go use. Players can use the same account and log-in details for both. No download is needed with the instant play mode of the mobile applications. The technology can also be used on Android phones, the iPod Touch and the iPhone. Mobile Web App examples are a video poker game called Jacks or Better, blackjack and a progressive slot game called Gold Rally. Gold Rally is linked to Playtech’s online casino progressive slot jackpot, which has paid out more than a million to each of five players over the past year. Three Java-based games are scheduled for release as well. They include keno, bingo, pop bingo and the ever-popular “rock, paper, scissors,” which will carry fixed odds.
A new, unique feature called “Casino Pack” allows user to bundle a number of games into a single, downloadable package. Playtech’s IMS (Information Management Solution) will be transferred over, allowing integration across multiple platforms. Even though Playtech is the largest publicly traded online gaming software company in the world, they haven’t gone over the final hump. Mobile Web Apps are another step to get noticed by industry giants like Microgaming and Cryptologic.
The International Gaming Expo (IGE) wrapped up last week and online casino software providers revealed some new games for 2010. The IGE is the premier showcase for new gaming software and ran in conjunction with the Betting Show, the Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI), the International Casino Exhibition (ICE) and the International Casino Conference (ICC).
WagerWorks, operating under International Game Technology (IGT), released the online slot Monty’s Millions. This one was special because it was the first game from the group that was released to land-based casinos as well as online casinos at the same time. More of the same is expected in the future, such as the release of a slot game called Kitty Litter and other branded slots this year. WagerWorks upgraded to an RGS platform, enabling operators on other platforms to download their games and offer them.
Microgaming, endorsed by big operators like Ladbrokes, 32Red, Jackpot City and Unibet, featured its Hellboy slot game. That slot was released in conjunction with Dark Horse, the live dealer blackjack and bingo side games. Microgaming’s mobile gaming partner, Spin3, announced a deal with gambling firm Rocketspin to spread its presences into the East European market.
Cryptologic showcased its recent slot achievements like Batman, Superman, Braveheart and Forrest Gump attained from its deal with Paramount Digital. 2009 releases included Jenga and Call of Duty Modern Warfare. Also presented was a new player protection facility for its blackjack games, which warns players if their moves are not optimal.
Playtech concentrated on its deal with Scientific Games, displaying innovative game content developed by Sciplay, and Sportech, which marked its entry into the sports betting world. Also featured was the release of a pack of nine new slot games, including five Marvel movie-based slots.
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What do Doyle Brunson, David “The Devilfish” Ulliot and Phil Laak all have in common other than being able to beat you at poker? Well, they all have their own online poker sites. The Cake Poker Network has announced that Laak will get his own site called Unabomber Poker. It will feature Laak in action on the network and a blog by him.
Laak is known for his trademark gray hoodie and sunglasses patterned after the forensic sketch of notorious convicted mail bomber Theodore Kaczynski. He has made the big time after joining the online poker world, similar to DoylesRoom with Brunson and Devilfish Poker with Ulliot. Unabomber Poker will be similar to many other sites on the Cake Poker Network, where players earn gold chips and gold cards to be exchanged for cash, merchandise or free play in tournaments. The site will also participate in the network’s premier monthly event, the $250,000 Guaranteed online poker tournament.
Laak is known for his great play and exuberant behavior at the poker table, which includes push-ups, talking to the cards and offering buyouts to players to show their winning hands. He came onto the scene in 2004 with a World Poker Tour Invitational win. He was a runner-up in 2005 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event, losing to Johnny Chan who earned his tenth bracelet. In just six years, Laak has earned more than $1.8 million from the tournament poker circuit. Laak is also in the highest-profile poker relationship with former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly. He was on the television show based on their prop bets around the United States called “I Bet You” with longtime friend Antonio Esfandiari.
The Cake Poker Network is adding other poker rooms, such as 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Safari Poker, Dimeline, Rags2Riches Poker, and Burro Poker. These bring the network total to 55 online poker sties. According to PokerScout.com, the network is in the top ten in the industry by cash game traffic with an average of 2,100 real money ring game players.
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Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson is putting a lot on his plate. In the midst of a major casino development in Singapore, Adelson told the Miami Herald that he plans to invest in a Las Vegas-style casino hotel and entertainment complex in South Florida, potentially Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.
As a result of the recession, Florida legislators are contemplating licensing full-fledged casinos throughout the state. Representative Ellen Bogdanoff, a strong gambling opponent, said the gaming expansion is on its way and the state would rather create five to seven casino resorts rather than give the Seminole Tribe exclusive gaming rights.
A beaconing tourist destination, Adelson said that South Florida is a prime location.
“We’re not interested in putting up slot parlors or a gambling den,” Adelson told the Herald. “We want destinations and integrated resorts.”
Adelson said it could be a $3 billion project and bring 7,000 desperately needed jobs to the state, and giving the gaming rights to the tribe would cost Florida jobs, revenue and regulatory control. Bogdanoff said the stigma surrounding gambling will not disappear and the legislature needs to ensure that it creates competition in the industry. This comes at the hands of a stalemate on negotiations among lawmakers for a tribal pact on gambling in the state.
As of December 2009, Las Vegas Sands was the world’s leading casino-based company with a market capitalization of $10.12 billion. In 2007, it was worth $43.7 billion, making Adelson the third richest person in the United States. Las Vegas Sands currently encompasses the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, the Sands Expo Convention Center and the Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino in Paradise, Nevada; the Sands Macao and the Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel in Macau, China; the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and the Marina Bay Sands Singapore in Marina Bay, Singapore is currently training casino dealers and due early this year.
The Ramada Plaza Hotel in Kentwood, Michigan was recently raided by the police as an illegal gambling operation was taken down. Police spokesmen said the illegal poker tournaments included topless dealers and hostesses and the serving of alcohol. Police arrested 20 people, including four topless dealers.
The authorities were tipped off by the Texas Hold’em poker event from its advertisement on Craig’s List.
“That’s how it came on our radar screen,” said Lt. Curt Schram of the Michigan Police to a local T.V. news station. “They were so open about it.”
No hotel workers were charged but Schram confirmed the management was aware of the operation. Apparently, the tournament organizer convinced hotel executives that everything they were doing was legal.
The tournament host has not been found, but police are planning his arrest. The authorities know his identity and said he is based in Detroit. The man previously tried to host similar events at hotels in Muskegon, but was denied access.
Scram said there were at least three such poker events held in the past month at the Ramada in a conference room, and sometimes the girls were completely nude. He said the girls would perform for tips, playing in Twister games and offering Jello shots.
I’m not condoning this type of behavior but one would think if he had planned this out for other hotels before, he would know better than to advertise it on a public forum like Craig’s List available to the authorities.
The founder of Bodog and icon of the online casino industry, Calvin Ayre, is calling for competing online casinos to come together to help Haiti’s recovery efforts from the devastating earthquake.
Ayre gave the notice through his website for the Calvin Ayre Foundation, which carries out charitable initiatives and focuses on global issues related to the environment, animal welfare and education for disadvantaged youth. He pledged to match the largest single donation by anyone of the online gambling world, up to $1 million.
Ayre wrote that the online gaming community has an obligation to help after the ruling elite of Haiti drove the country down.
“The innocents as always are paying a horrendous price for this elite thievery and I think the global online gaming community has a duty to do something,” Ayre wrote.
Ayre’s foundation already donated £10,000 to the UK-based volunteer group Oxfam for their Hatian relief efforts. He wants the gambling industry to donate as well and he will match it.
Ayre’s past is marred with controversy, including an insider-trading scandal and a marijuana-smuggling operation before Bodog became successful. U.S. officials have been trying to arrest him for years on account of his online gambling and sports betting operations focusing on U.S. customers.
He sold much of his gaming empire, went into seclusions and then retired in 2008. His whereabouts are still kept secret. He is still recognized as a world authority on branding in digital entertainment after turning Bodog into a billion-dollar global entertainment empire in 10 years.
In an effort to curb appeal against legal gambling in his state, Alabama Governor Bob Riley inadvertently made his opponents‘ case for them. This was represented in Riley’s examples in his State of the State address.
He said that gambling in the 1950s was controlled primarily by criminals, and attempts to rid them from the state led to the assassination of a candidate for attorney general. His point was the old myth that gambling increase crime.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if you vote to let this happen, you’ll be swimming in a pool that has more sharks than all the oceans in the world,” Riley said.
However, gambling proponents said Riley is reiterating their point, only for a different outcome. Gambling operators only want legalization and regulation so that criminals like ones that Riley fears are forced out of the gaming black market that would be created by a prohibition of gambling. They said that the 1950s created an environment that was fruitful for crime and illegal gaming. Regulation, not full prohibition, would prevent corruption.
Additionally, Alabama lawmakers are angry that Riley has no legitimate plan to deal with the state budget crisis. Senate Rules Committee Chairman Lowell Barron said Riley is counting on federal money from bills that haven’t even been passed yet.
House Budget Committee Chariman Richard Lindsey said a state tax on casinos and gambling would be helpful. If Riley doesn’t prohibit electronic bingo, lawmakers estimate that taxing it would raise $200 million per year in revenue.
Online gambling company PartyGaming reached a five-year deal with Danske Spil, the Danish government’s gaming group. PartyGaming will provide an online gaming platform for poker and casino games. The deal was made Monday and the details are yet to be worked out.
Founded in 1997, PartyGaming is an industry giant, best known for its online poker room PartyPoker.com. Before the passage of anti-online gambling legislation in the U.S., PartyGaming was the world’s largest online poker brand based off of game revenue and number of players. Now, it is the fourth largest online poker room in the world.
The Danske Spil Group is one of the European Union’s largest betting organizations. It has an annual turnover of more than £1-billion and ½-million registered online customers. But, the company signed with a well-known online gaming company in anticipation of new gambling laws that could come about in 2011. Danske Spil currently runs a successful online site that offers a lottery, numbers games and other games but the group wanted to expand into casino games like slot machines and online poker.
Denmark is strict on its gambling in regards to taxation. 2008 WSOP Champion Peter Eastgate lost a big chunk of his $8.5-million prize to the Danish government. The Danish government called for a partially liberalized gaming market in 2009. If the proposed legislation becomes law, poker and casino games will be opened to competition in the Danish market.
The betting table may make craps seem intimidating but it only requires a little bit of strategy and some luck. The number of ways to bet are broad and the dice rolls can seem daunting at first but it’s not that complicated once you understand the terminology.
Craps is played with two dice. The large betting space is called the “pass line.” Your “come-out” roll, or first roll of your turn, determines the pass-line point. If you roll a 7 or 11 on your first turn, you win automatically and a new round begins. Rolling a 2, 3 or 12 is a “crap out,” or automatic loss. All other numbers (i.e. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) establishes a “point.” The shooter can keep rolling until they hit that point again. If you roll a 7 after establishing a point, you lose. For example, if you first roll a 5, you keep rolling until you hit a 5 again. If you roll a 7, you lose.
The difference between online craps and land-based casino craps is that you don’t have to pass the dice to the next player online. You simply bet on the outcome of your own roll.
The odds of any number coming up in craps are 1 in 36 and the odds of a 7 or 11 are 22%. You have an 11% chance of crapping out. The house edge on most bets is only 1.5%, making craps one of the most enticing casino games.